Saturday, January 29, 2011

"The King's Speech" hits the mark

The film based on a true story, “The King’s Speech” gracefully blends smart humor and lowbrow humor, which makes it one of the more entertaining historical dramas and 2011 Best Picture nominees.

It follows the stuttering, King George VI’s public speaking troubles and rise to power from 1925-1939.



George VI’s problem is so bad it is uncomfortable to watch, especially since he is royalty. Colin Firth played the role of the powerful, insecure king perfectly. He captures King George’s peculiar speech flawlessly.

Geoffrey Rush from “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” plays the king’s charming and demanding speech therapist. All the scenes with Rush and Firth were great, the two played off each other very well.

Helena Bonham Carter from “Big Fish,” beautifully recreates the great historical figure as the king’s wife otherwise known as “The Queen Mother.” Guy Pearce from “Memento,” plays a good jerk as usual in the role of the king’s brother. Michael Gambon from “Harry Potter,” is good in a small role as the king’s father.

Director Tom Hopper did a fantastic job regenerating the early twentieth century. Hopper also directed the 2009 soccer movie “The Damned United,” which got good reviews from ESPN.

Rating: A-It demonstrates many emotions effectively like anger, sadness, happiness, joy, surprise and fear. But it’s a little slow and the parts without Rush and Firth together aren’t as good. However it gives a very realistic portrayal of the life of someone with a stutter.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Could a Ballet Flick Entertain Guys?

The psychological ballerina thriller “Black Swan” is a surprisingly good film for both genders.

Although most movies about ballets are not male friendly, this film uses sex, suspense and some violence to keep the men interested.

The sexual movie follows the life of a straight-edged ballerina, played by Natalie Portman, she is about to perform “Swan Lake” at a prominent New York ballet. It shows her struggle between good and bad through two roles, the white swan and the black swan. The colors white and black are prevalent throughout, which brings attention to the differences of the two swan parts in the ballet.



Portman is incredible as one of the most interesting characters in recent memory, she deserves the Oscar for best leading lady. The supporting cast only enhances her performance with Vincent Cassel from “Ocean’s 11,” Mila Kunis from “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and Winona Ryder from “Edward Scissorhands.”

Director Darren Aronofsky, who is the king of making messed-up, sad movies like “Requiem for a Dream” and “The Wrestler.” He did maybe his best work in this film using both depressing scenes like in “The Wrestler” and crazy, weird scenes like in “Requiem for a Dream.”

Slow at parts, but those parts are just building tension and anxiety. It can also be a bit confusing. Do not watch this with your parents.

Rating: A-
Really good movie, however people might be turned off by Aronofsky’s extreme direction.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Rock Me "Amadeus"

The highly fictionalized 1984 film "Amadeus" follows the rock star life and music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

His story is told through the eyes of his jealous opposing composer, Antonio Salieri.

It brilliantly shows Mozart's creative process and the scences are edited perfectly with the music being played over.

Tom Hulce beat out David Bowie for the role of the enthusiastic, childish and unpredictable Mozart.

It had some historical inaccuracies, but the film wasn't made to be historically accurate. The film depicts a less formal, more realistic society that isn't usually shown in films about this era.

It is one of the few 80s movies where the electronic music and neon colors from the era don't bleed through and kill the movie.

If you don't like long movies then this isn't for you, it's over two and a half hours. But if do you like classical music this is the perfect film.

Rating: B+, Really good biopic, but it's long and not historically accurate.

It's a "Bottle Shock"

The 2008 film "Bottle Shock" is a fun, light story following one California vineyard before the American wine boom in 1976.

It stars Bill Pullman from "Independence Day," as the owner of the vineyard, his son and employee is played by Chris Pine from "Star Trek." Pullman and Pine, both give good performances.

The best scenes are with Steve Spurrier (Alan Rickman), a knowledgable wine professional who discovers the vineyard. His performance is key to this film, because the snotty but charming Spurrier is only person who gave American wine a chance.

Rachel Taylor from the first "Transformers", plays Chris Pine's love interest. Although she is good in it, the love story is the weak part of the film.

The love story got a little weird, if it was a little different it could have better.

Rating: C+, It is a good wine movie with laughs and drama, but it lags a bit in the middle.

Best Picture Favorite "Inception"

The star studded action packed thriller “Inception” is incomparable to other Oscar favorites.

The story is about Dom Cobb (Leonardo Dicaprio) whose work consists of stealing people’s secrets in their dreams.


Cobb has a team that helps him in and out of dreams. His team is great and perfectly casted. It consists of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Dileep Rao and Tom Hardy.

Ken Watanabe plays Mr. Saito, who employs the team to perform the extremely difficult task called inception. It means to plant an idea in someone’s unconscious mind. The target is an wealthy businessman played by Cillian Murphy.

Christopher Nolan uses all the actors’ strengths to tell this complicated story. He also uses colors to show the differences between each dream sequence. For example, one would be gray, the other would yellow and the last would be white.

Rating: A, It’s really good and unique, but it is a little long and confusing.

Wonderful "Wonder Boys"

This excellent character study "Wonder Boys" from 2000 is interesting, but might not appeal to all audiences.

It's about a writer past his prime, played by Michael Douglas, and his mentoring of a young talented pupil played by Tobey Maguire.

Douglas does a great job as the eccentric, pothead mentor. Maguire had the tough role as the uppish and mysterious pupil, but he was fantastic.


The story is intriguing and evolves well throughout. However, it is slow and there is very little action.

Rating: B+ or B, It really depends on if the viewer can watch a slow movie.

The "Brothers Solomon" is Funny


The comedy, "Brothers Solomon" from 2007 is similar to the 1994 "Dumb and Dumber" in character and laughter.

It follows two brothers trying to have a baby for their dying father. The comedy is as ridiculous as it sounds.

Will Arnett and Will Forte are both hilarious as the brothers Solomon.

The story is stupid, but what do you expect from a dumb comedy.

Rating: B or B-, It has some really funny parts, however it isn't non-stop laughter.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

"Zodiac" Kills It

The film “Zodiac” is based on Robert Graysmith's book about the Zodiac killer, who terrorized the San Francisco Bay area in the 1970s.

It follows the lives of the police officers and newspaper people who covered the story.



There are many good actors in it who give great performances, such as Robert Downey, Jr, Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo and Brian Cox.

The movie is intriguing and suspenseful, but it is a little long. The mystery is captivating and the killer is chilling. However, it just tries to cover too much over too long of a period.

Rating: B, It should be shorter.

Is "Jesus' Son" Good?

The film from 2000 "Jesus’ Son" surrounds the life of an addict, FH and his travels all around the country with his on again off again girlfriend, Michelle.

It is a combination of two drug movies “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and “Trainspotting.” It has shows the fun, crazy side of drugs like “Fear and Loathing” and it also has the dark, sad side of drugs like “Trainspotting.”




Billy Crudup holds the movie together as the charming, selfish FH. Samantha Morton gives a good performance in a tough role as the emotional girlfriend, Michelle.

The film’s best scenes are with other drug addicts FH meets along the way. The other addicts are played Jack Black, Denis Leary and Dennis Hopper.

The only bad part is the ending drags and movie ends on a weird note.

If drugs bother you in anyway this movie is not your cup of tea.

Rating: B, Could have been better with a better ending.

Fun Fact: The movie's title comes from a line in the Velvet Underground song "Heroin."

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

"All The President's Men," An American Classic

The 1976 film "All The President's Men" starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman is a must-see for younger generations.

It is about the two journalists, Redford and Hoffman, that uncover the Watergate scandal leading up to President Nixon's resignation.

The movie is fast paced and full of information. It flows seamlessly and keeps the viewers attention the whole time.

Hoffman and Redford work brilliantly together and make the movie great.

Rating: A, The Best Journalism Movie Ever

"Get Low" is Worth a View

The film “Get Low” is getting some high marks with critics.

It is a weird story set in 1933 Tennessee about a mean old man, Felix Bush, who wants to throw his own funeral party so he can tell his story before he dies.

The movie is exactly as advertised, it is about an old trying to have a funeral before he dies and that’s about it.




Bush, played by Robert Duvall, hires a funeral director, Frank Quinn played by Bill Murray, to set everything up for the funeral party. Quinn’s only problem is that everyone is afraid of Bush and no one will come to the party.

So. the rest of the movie is about getting people to the party and discovering more about Bush, which is both entertaining and interesting.


The movie started off light and kind of funny but about half-way through it gets deep. That part of the movie will make or break it for most viewers.

Duvall and Murray both give great performances and deserve recognition.

Rating: B, Good and well-acted film, but will the average movie-goer like it?

"Social Network," Best Picture Worthy?

This movie about the creation of the phenomena facebook is one of the best movies of the year, but is it the best?

It follows former Harvard student and facebook creator, Mark Zuckerberg’s journey from the beginning of facebook to present day. The story is set during two deposition hearings against Zuckerberg, where they told the story of facebook through flashbacks.



It gives an interesting depiction of the upper class. At times it might seem unrealistic, but who knows that might be the way the upper class is.

This intriguing and interesting story is easy to like since so many people are on facebook and are curious of its inner workings.

Rating: B+, Due to good casting, acting, editing and directing this film is expected to do very well in the upcoming award season. Might not age well because of inaccuracies in the film and the real-life story. It is not the best movie of the year.

It has "True Grit"

The Remake of John Wayne’s 1969 western film, “True Grit” is a front-runner for best picture at this year’s Oscars.

The story is set in 1880 about a 14-year-old girl, Mattie Ross, and a US Marshall, Rooster Cogburn in search of her father’s murderer, Tom Clancy.

Hailee Steinfeld does an outstanding as the smart, strong and stubborn Mattie Ross. Without her performance the movie would have suffered. Jeff Bridges knocks it of the park as the grouchy old drunk, US Marshall Cogburn.

They are chasing Tom Chaney her father's murderer, played by Josh Brolin, who is withe Cogburn's enemy Lucky Ned Pepper, ironically played by Barry Pepper.

Chaney and Pepper are not in the movie as much as you would expect.

Directed by the Coen brothers, this movie perfectly combines tense scenes with comedy. They also kept a lot from the original, but they changed it enough so it would be a different movie.

Rating: A-, One of the best westerns in the past 25 years.